Sep. 1, 2011

Written by

Ben Jones

Post-Crescent Madison bureau

MADISON — A website created by law five years ago to provide the public a window into state government spending has limited value in keeping taxpayers informed, state auditors have concluded.

In a report released Wednesday, the Legislative Audit Bureau said design problems and a lack of reporting by state agencies have hampered the Contract Sunshine site, which is administered by the Government Accountability Board.

The audit found that, "although some had expected the Contract Sunshine Web site to serve as an 'open checkbook' showing how state agencies spend public funds, it has been of limited value in providing the public with clear, comprehensive, and useful information."

The audit bureau recommends the Legislature change or repeal the Contract Sunshine law once the state Department of Administration can ensure that a parallel effort included in the current state budget is feasible.

State Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Allouez, requested the audit. He said people need to know how their money is being spent by state government.

"Just having the audit done has propelled more reporting ... but the jury is still out as exactly which way to go here," Cowles said.

The audit findings mirror those of The Post-Crescent, which in March 2010 found that the site contained information for only 14 of 98 agencies, and much of it was incomplete. A national watchdog group ranked Wisconsin's effort among the worst in the country. At that time, officials responsible for maintaining the site blamed technical issues and a lack of enforcement authority.

Following publication of The P-C report, northeastern Wisconsin lawmakers pushed for improvements. The audit was ordered in July 2010. Since then, the website has improved but remains incomplete.

The Government Accountability Board's executive director, Kevin Kennedy, wrote in a response to the audit that the law creating the site was vague and the state has devoted little money to it.

"The G.A.B. welcomes the Legislature's new, more holistic approach to state government financial transparency, which will give taxpayers a website that provides the full picture of state spending," he said in a statement.

(Page 2 of 2)

The law calls for information on contracts worth $10,000 or more to be posted. A more stringent requirement — posting information about all purchases over $100 — was included in the state budget passed in June.

The audit bureau recommended the Department of Administration provide a report in January about the status of the new rules.

In an email, Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, said the state is committed to making spending information more transparent and the Department of Administration is in the process of including additional details about state expenditures on its website.

Carla Vigue, a spokeswoman for the Department of Administration, said the site is still in its early stages and there isn't a firm deadline for completion.

"That said, transparency and developing this website is a priority," she wrote in an email. "Governor Walker has directed DOA to get working on it and we are doing just that."

Cowles said it's important to keep the old system in place until the new system can be fully implemented to ensure transparency.

"The fact that we had the audit, keeps the pressure on, keeps it in front of the Legislature and it makes it better for citizens to find out things," he said. "Is it solved yet? No. It's going to take more work to finally solve this so we have all the data out there."